


Secret of women

by bookaddict43



Category: Firefly
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-01-13
Updated: 2009-01-13
Packaged: 2017-10-02 04:33:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookaddict43/pseuds/bookaddict43
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Originally written for ana_grrl’s Random Title Generator Challenge. <br/>Disclaimer: Firefly and all its characters are the property of Joss Whedon</p>
    </blockquote>





	Secret of women

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for ana_grrl’s Random Title Generator Challenge.   
> Disclaimer: Firefly and all its characters are the property of Joss Whedon

Jayne picked his way through the bodies and approached the downed shuttle, cautiously peering inside. He shook his head back at Zoe. It weren’t something he thought Kaylee should see; it was bad enough her friend had died, she didn’t need no nightmares.

For all sorts of different reasons, the Captain shouldn’t see it either. The man wasn’t real good with death, ‘specially if it was folks he cared about. He’d maybe never be right again, and loath though Jayne was to admit it, they needed Mal to lead them.

Zoe understood all that. She’d looked at him with what his Ma called soldier’s eyes and steered the others away, leaving Jayne to do the necessary.

He stepped into the shuttle and looked around with a sigh. He’d been in there afore of course. The first few times weren’t at her invitation, catch such as her asking him in!

But it didn’t set right with him that the Captain just let her fly in and out and never once checked what she might be habouring in that shuttle. So he’d made sure she weren’t around and gone in to give it the once over hisself. If there was stuff there he could steal, well all the better.

He’d stopped inside the doorway, all kinds of surprised. In spite of all the rich trappings, it were sorta homey.

It was one of them secrets of women how she’d made that old shuttle look like it did, and how she kept that place so beautiful. Never a thing outta place, all the pretties displayed just so. It didn’t stop him exploring of course, as time went by he went through all her things, but he never took nothing.

On one of his searches he found the serious looking syringe hidden under the bed and figured all those stories ‘bout Companion’s protecting themselves were true.

Other times he looked through all her toys and they gave him hours of fun back in his bunk, imaginin’ the uses they were put to. The books too were all manner of interesting and were the only sort of studying he’d ever enjoyed. He’d learned all sorts of helpful things from them.

He’d hauled packed boxes outta the shuttle the time she left; and she’d stunned him by laying a hand on his arm and saying thank you in that chocolaty smooth voice of hers. After Miranda he’d dragged some of her things back and this time she’d even smiled a proper friendly smile at him.

Though he’d die rather than admit it, Jayne had been glad she was back; the shuttle weren’t the same without her things. He went there even more over the next few months. His bunk was too close to stuff he didn’t want to know about. Her shuttle was the only place he could escape.

Long after when him and Kaylee got together, she’d quietly given them a lamp for their room. It was one he’d always liked and Jayne raised an eyebrow at her and she’d fluttered her eyelashes at him and grinned. He figured that all this time she’d somehow known what he was up to. She always was a clever one; clever ‘bout everything except the Captain. It beat him how come her and Mal never got together.

She’d used the syringe this time; he knew she wouldn’t have flinched. The stuff had acted on the Reavers who’d gotten close to her and he had to sift through the wracked bodies to find hers. He threw the Reaver bodies in a trench and cleared up her room putting things back as he remembered them.

Jayne searched through the rubble till he found one of her dresses that weren’t ripped all to hell, and dressed her proper like she’d want. Hands gentle he wrapped Inara in her quilt cover, laid her on the big bed and sealed the shuttle.

They landed on Haven not far from where the others were and hauled the shuttle closer. River hovered close as the Captain threw the torch and the Doc and Zoe stood stiff and straight. Jayne hugged Kaylee to him as tight as she were hugging him and watched the flames shoot upwards. He figured ‘Nara wouldn’t mind goin’ like that – all flash and pretty, her treasures and secrets goin’ with her. He’d sure miss the shuttle though – almost as much as the friend that came with it. Not that he’d ever tell no-one that – it just weren’t manly.


End file.
